Everyone Has Secrets!
by TheRandomButton
Summary: There are eight power cores on the island, Omega has seven. While he searches for the last one, he's introduced to another person that really causes him to question what he'll do with the final power core. We also examine the lives and problems of others on the island.
1. Chapter 1

**Omega's Lair 11:00 PM**

Seven. He already had seven power cores. Only one more before the entire island would become slaves to his will. One more core before he would rule over all of the inhabitants on that island. All...eight of them. Well, not necessarily eight. There were about a hundred people on that island but there were eight people that he knew would eventually be against him, should they become aware of his plans. As he walked across the room to the large holographic computer in the middle of it, Omega clenched his fist. His merciless black eyes shimmered behind his black and orange mask. Shortly after powering the computer on, he was greeted with a robotic voice.

 _GOOD EVENING, LORD OMEGA. HOW MAY I SERVE YOU TODAY?_

"Begin video call. Password 2-4-Delta-30-Q," Omega commanded.

 _PASSWORD ACCEPTED. SELECT THE RECIPIENT OF THE CALL._

"Contact Nuklear."

 _NOW CALLING NUKLEAR, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE VISITOR._

As the computer called Nuklear, Omega briskly walked around his lair hoping for him to pick up. Nuklear was Omega's top general for his army on his home planet. Almost as ruthless as he is, he was a fast learner and killed even faster. While in training, he went above and beyond Omega's expectations which easily set him apart from the other candidates in his squadron. He easily found and exploited his enemies' weaknesses. When introduced to a new weapon, he made sure he was the first to learn it, inside and out, as well as how he can modify it to make it completely obliterate opponents. He learned the history of the army as well as how the weapons of the past worked. Above all, he worked tirelessly to make sure that Lord Omega was beyond satisfied with his work when he was complete. In fact, just before an invasion on a nearby planet, Omega would send him to "visit" it, hence his nickname, the Visitor. Of course, that visit was simply a mass slaughter of all of the planet's citizens. This way, when his Lord arrives, he can start anew. This was the same for the island that Omega was on now. He personally created a villainous lair for Omega when he arrived, as well as created a rocket that would open the rift to their home planet. Not many people saw him; he was seen by few and engaged in combat by most. This was the case when he answered the phone.

 _"Lord Omega. To what do I owe this pleasure of being contacted?"_

Omega stopped pacing around. "Good evening, Nuklear. I trust that you have found the final power core?"

 _"I wish I had, my lord. I have encountered no one who is in possession of it."_

Omega's head hung low. He was so close! All it took was one more core. Who could possibly have it? "Alright, Nuklear. Do not beat yourself up over it; I have full faith in you. Carry on."

 _"As you wish. Oh, and my lord?"_

"Hm?"

 _"Please do get some rest. Why don't you settle down? You should explore the island and see what it has to offer before it's destroyed."_

Omega looked at him with interest. "Do you have something in mind?" He nodded.

 _"I overheard some of the townsfolk talking about something called 'Lazy Links'. Apparently, it has a sport called 'golf' that's playable there."_

"I'll look into it. But for now, I want to get this done."

 _"Understood. Farewell, my lord."_

"Stay safe, Nuklear."

And with that, the call ended and Omega powered off the computer. Slowly walking to the garage that overlooked a nearby community, he looked into the sky. As Father Moon and millions of his starry children danced in the night sky, he saw a shooting star fly by. He sighed. "I need to get this done," he muttered before clenching his fist and walking back up the stairs. Looking over his blueprints, he grinned as his invention was nearing completion.

"Soon...it will all be **mine.** "

 **12:05 AM Tilted Towers Luxury Apartments**

 _BZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT!_

 _"_ NotrightnowMrBurger...Tomatoheadllbemadatmeforeatingpizzahere..."

 _BZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTT! BZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT!_

 _"_ Mmmmm...howdyoumakeaperfectcircleforapizzaTomatohead...?"

 _BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTT!_

Brite Bomber's eyes snapped open as she grabbed her phone in a half-sleep rage. "WHO THE HELL IS THIS AND WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME SO EARLY?"

 _"Woah, BB, chill. It's Cera!"_

At the voice of her red-costumed friend, her eyes half-closed. "Ohhey," she said almost falling back asleep, "Why're you calling me at this hour-"

" _Rex and I were headed to Lazy Links for a quick round of golf, and we wanted to see if you were interested in coming..."_

"Can't it wait for a time that's not LITERALLY five minutes after midnight?"

After that, a long silence ensued. BB's eyes twitched and almost clicked the "hang up" button on her phone before Cera spoke again.

 _"There! 12:06. Six minutes after midnight!"_

"CERA! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"

" _BB, you're not gonna get a man in your dreams, no matter how often..."_

"NO! TOMATOHEAD WAS ABOUT TO GIVE ME THE SECRET TO HOW HIS PIZZAS ARE SO PERFECT!"

Again, silence. BB realized she said that out loud and opened her mouth to apologize. Cera couldn't really blame her; no matter how many times she had tried, she couldn't seem to make a perfect pizza with a lump or two in the outline of the circle. Maybe she just needed a protractor.

 _"We'll be there in five minutes."_ Cera suddenly said. BB jumped out of bed and rushed to get her boots on while angrily muttering to herself. " _Uh, you know I can hear you angrily muttering to yourself, right? You didn't hang up the phone."_

Our rainbow-colored heroine put her sunglasses on her head and combed her blood-red hair. "How'd Rex even agree to go golfing with you at this hour of the day?"

" _I don't know. I knocked on his door at Salty and within five minutes he was ready to leave! I didn't even tell him what we'd be doing!"_

BB smiled knowingly as she grabbed her pump shotgun, her P90, and a gold-plated assault rifle. She found it advantageous to be prepared. "He's crazy about you, Cera. I'm surprised you haven't realized it yet-"

 _"We're here. Let's go,"_ Cera interrupted before hanging up. Rolling her eyes and combing her hair one last time, she grabbed her pickaxe (she named it Rainbow Smash) and ran down the stairs to where Cera and Rex were waiting in a golf cart. Cera was short for Tricera Ops, and the name Rex was self-explanatory. Both dinosaur fanatics, they were donned in dinosaur-like outfits. Rex had on a light green and orange T-Rex outfit while Cera wore a red Triceratops set, complete with a Triceratops egg backpack. Like BB, they were heavily armed, should they get in a fight on the way there.

"Honestly, who would be out this late anyway?" BB asked as she took her seat next to Cera.

"Well, for one, Raven and Ravager. You know they like getting some late-night kills. Then there's Moisty Merman and Leviathan for some scaring practice before Halloween, and you might see some gingerbread people scurry by!" Rex answered.

"How'd we get from Halloween to Christmas?" Cera said, looking back at him in disbelief.

"How'd we get from Easter in April to Easter in September?" Rex challenged. "We see Easter eggs all over this island, no matter what day of the year it is!"

"Don't forget that the soccer team just came back..." BB said.

"And the punk rock girl with the spiky hair."

"And Fireworks Bear."

"And-"

"Aaand we're leaving." Cera said, slamming the gas pedal as they sped towards Lazy Links.

 **Paradise Palms 12:45 PM**

"I can't believe Moisty Mire was killed for this DUMP!"

"You and me both, Scal."

Two people walked in the middle of the road in the deserted town of Paradise Palms, and it just so happened that these two were convicts. Having broken into Tilted Towers bank and getting away with millions of dollars, as well as taking away thousands of dollars worth of Epic Inc. data on the rocks that were found in Dusty Divot, Rapscallion and Scoundrel had engraved their names into criminal history. As a result, they were transferred to the biggest federal prison on the island, Moisty Mire's Building for the Dangerous and Criminally Insane. However, shortly after that rocket crashed into the sky, their ugly, smelly home was transferred into the island's number one relaxation getaway. And they didn't like it one bit.

"Look on the bright side, though! No one here to arrest us!" Scoundrel stated.

"Or shoot us," Scal added.

"Plus, there's a hotel right here! I bet they've got LOADS of V-Bucks in there!"

"Only one way to find out," Scal grinned as they ran inside the Paradise Palms Resort Hotel.

 **FIVE MINUTES LATER**

"Wow. Not a SINGLE V-Buck found! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" Scoundrel sighed.

"And here I thought we would get Free V-Bucks. I feel scammed," Scal muttered.

"You said it."

The two continued to explore the town while ransacking each house they saw.

 **DUSTY DIVOT 1:00 PM**

"Teri, any luck?"

"Nope. It's the same old same old. You?"

"Nada."

"Ugh. Why is it so difficult to find out where the last power core is?"

"Don't know, but we'll find it."

Teri looked at her friend wrapped in blue metal. "Bide, if you had a power core, where would you hide it?" He looked at her.

"Well, why would I tell you? It'd be a secret."

Teri scoffed. "There's no such thing as a secret around here."

"Everyone has secrets, Teri."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

"...Teri."

"What?"

"It's a secret for a reason."

"You're no fun, you know that, Bide? We've known each other since childhood and still hiding stuff."

"Yeah, well this power core's been here for millenia and we still don't know where or what it's hiding. So let's keep going."

"Fine. I'll check Pleasant, you check Snobby."

"Gotcha."

With that, the two flew around the trees and off into their respective towns.

 **And with that, the stage is nearly set.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Snobby Shores 6:45 AM**

As he walked up to the entrance of the neighborhood, Carbide continued to munch on a Durr Breakfast Burger. Although it didn't take hours to get from Dusty Divot to Snobby Shores, especially if you fly, Bide thought it would be advantageous if he got himself a bite to eat before continuing his mission. Thus, after going from Dusty to Greasy Grove, getting his burger, messing around on the playground, watching gingerbread people run from bush to bush, talking to the giant head on the hill, almost getting killed by Ravager and avoiding a mine disguised as an easter egg laid out by Rabbit Raider, he finally decided to head to Snobby Shores. For some, eating a burger at such an early time in the day might seem unorthodox, but Bide didn't care. After all, as the story of the meal goes, Beef Boss supposedly picked out the most optimum ingredients that would not only be delicious but also provide the consumer with that morning kick that they needed to start their day. Clearly, the burger was doing its job, as Bide was energized and ready to find the power core.

"MMMMMM...Grill Sargeant, you've done it again," Bide said out loud. Hey, he could've shouted if he wanted to. People rarely ever came to this side of the island anyway. After throwing away his wrapper, Bide grinned and breathed in the fresh air that came with living at the coast of the island. He felt sorry for those who were forced to leave the island. There was lush grass and looming trees at every house, luxurious cars that sat in the driveways, a high tech security system for every house, and each house had something that separated it from the others. For instance, one house had a basketball court while another house had a swimming pool. In fact, it's rumored that the house to the far left had a secret basement entrance hidden inside of it. Bide chuckled. "The people who lived in this house really missed out." As he approached the first mansion, he received a call from his in-suit telephone. It was Criterion, or Teri for short. He accepted the call.

"Hello, welcome to Durr Burger, how can I help you-"

"Stop messing around, Bide! Are you finished marveling at how amazing the neighborhood is for the tenth time?"

"How'd you know that I was-"

"Turn around and look at the top of the mountain on your left!"

He turned around and looked on top of the mountain, and there he saw Teri floating in the air waving at him. Bide rolled his eyes. "I can't help it. You gotta admit that this community is amazing."

"I guess."

"So, did you find anything at Pleasant?" Bide asked as he entered the first house.

"No."

"What? How? You didn't even find a clue?"

"I...uh...followed you here."

Bide stopped climbing the stairs to the second level and grinned. "Oh, were you checking to see if I was okay-"

"NO," she defended with a blush from behind her mask. Luckily he couldn't see it. She sat down on the edge of the cliff and crossed her arms. "I was making sure you didn't goof off too much."

"So enjoying a Durr Breakfast Burger is goofing off?"

"No, but playing around on the playground is."

Now it was Carbide's turn to look sheepish as a long silence began. Teri knew she'd cornered him and sported a triumphant grin. "All right, I'm done. Meet me in Pleasant." With that, she flew in the opposite direction of the luxurious neighborhood to the slightly less luxurious neighborhood south of it. As she flew to her designated spot, she had some time to think for herself. "Huh," she muttered, "I guess he was right about everyone having secrets." Unbeknownst to Bide, him goofing off was just the laugh that she needed to energize her for the day. And unbeknownst to Teri, Bide was turning over and over in his head what she thought of him after learning what her watchful eyes witnessed.

 **Lazy Links 7:30 AM**

BB's eyes fluttered open as she saw Cera staring at her, tapping her finger impatiently. She looked at her left and saw Rex practicing his swing. They were at hole number one at Lazy Links. "Wow...did it really take 6 hours to go from Tilted to-"

"No," Cera said in an annoyed tone, "It took about 45 minutes. Rex and I were able to finish three full rounds while you were sleeping! You're lucky that this is his favorite sport."

"Who won?"

Cera crossed her arms. "It's his favorite sport, of course he won all three!" BB looked at her confusedly. "You're the one who doesn't like losing, though! Why choose a sport you're almost guaranteed to lose?" Ignoring her question, Cera got out and chose her pickaxe. "Come on. We're starting now." She walked over to Rex, who was picking up grass to get the wind's direction and strength. "You can tee off when you're ready," she said. He smiled. "Triceratops first," he said, gesturing to the front of the tee box. As Cera rolled her eyes and put her ball down with Rex watching her with interest, BB walked up to him with her pickaxe in hand. "You're the most determined person I've ever seen, you know that?" she asked. Rex nodded. "I doubt she'd be interested in people who give up too easily," he responded. BB looked at him. "She got her over half a year ago, and you've been infatuated since, dude. I think she gets the pictu-"

"SHH!" Rex said, covering his mouth and looking at Cera as she teed off...into the rough. Facepalming herself, she got in the cart dejectedly. BB was right; she hated losing. Not just gunfights, but sports as well. Rex took out his purple golf ball and whispered to BB, "She's lost every hole we played while you slept! So, I'm throwing this game. I hate seeing her like this!" BB gasped. "But that'll break your 80-game win streak! You gotta just win this game to beat Reaper's record!" Rex frowned as he put his ball on the ground. "If it'll get her a win, it's worth it. I can easily start a new streak. Plus, no one plays this sport anyway," he muttered. True to his word, Rex's first shot landed near the base of the clubhouse, which was about ten times farther than where Cera landed. She gasped as Rex got in the cart. "Ummm...are my eyes deceiving me? Did you actually hit a bad shot?" Rex feigned surprise. "Ughh, I hope that the sleep isn't getting to me; I was on a roll!" BB teed off and almost hit Rex's ball with where it landed.

Cera gasped. "Did...did I win this hole?"

"Ummm...yeah! I thought I had perfected my swing! I guess I thought wrong...heh..." Rex feigned happiness and BB could tell.

"Well, on to the next hole!"

 **Omega's Lair 8:00 AM**

 _"Yes, my lord?"_

"Nuklear, there are two beings who are also looking for the power core. One of them is in the community overlooking this lair while the other is in a place called Pleasant Park."

 _"Understood, I'm on my way to the latter area."_

"I'll check this neighborhood. Make sure you're not seen."

 _"Child's play, my lord. Nuklear out."_

With a smile, Omega opened the garage and flew down to the house that Carbide was currently searching for clues. When he landed, he received another call from Nuklear.

 _"My lord! I almost forgot to tell you, there's been a crash landing on the far side of the island."_

"Oh?"

 _"Not just that, but its readings are extremely similar to ours when we arrived here."_

"I see. I will investigate when I finish here."

 _"Understood."_

Just as he hung up, Carbide emerged from the house panting. He'd literally searched every nook and cranny for clues, but did not come out successful. Omega watched with interest as Bide muttered, "Come on, Teri's counting on me!" before moving to the next house.

 **Pleasant Park** **9:30 AM**

Seventeen holes later, Rex was completely depressed. He had choked every hole and his streak was officially broken. Cera, on the other hand, had received her first win. Overjoyed, she had a grin from ear to ear as she drove BB back to Tilted Towers. The latter felt really sorry for her friend; she knew that he would consider it one of the crowning achievements of his life if he actually broke the golfing record. It was within his reach, but there were other things he was focused on. Stopping at the convenience store in Pleasant, Cera practically skipped inside.

"I'm really sorry, Rex. I know how important that record was to yo-"

"Don't worry about it," he said, interrupting BB with a sad smile, "I'm just glad I put a smile on her face."

BB sighed. He was willing to risk his life for her and Cera never realized it. Looking off into the distance, she frowned until she saw something that almost made her put her sunglasses on despite it being partly cloudy. She thought she saw an orange and blue robot flying from house to house in search of something. "Rex. You see that?"

He looked in the direction she was pointing and his look of sadness was replaced with one of interest. He got out of the cart and began walking towards it with a shotgun in hand. "Rex, wait!" BB whispered. "What's going-where's he going?" Cera asked as she took a sip of Tilted Tea, "And what or who is that?" At that, they both began to slowly walk after him with their assault rifles in hand.

 **Lucky Landing 10:00 AM**

A sleek black figure slowly landed on the roof at the tallest building in town. It had a mask similar to Omega's, a slightly sliimmer frame, and three lights on its chest. It managed to keep its balance as it approached the edge and looked into the distance at the rocket part left in Fatal Fields.

"So that's where Visitor landed..."

Checking its fuel gauge, it was happy to see that it had almost a full tank of fuel and its weapons systems were fully functional. Floating down, it called out, "Hello?" Utilizing its X-Ray vision feature of the mask, it looked around. No one to be seen.

"Um...Who are you?"

She spun around to see Scoundrel and Rapscallion aiming at them with loaded shotguns.

 **We are about to begin...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Lucky Landing 10:05 AM**

The figure instantly put its hands up in surrender. Although it did have a weapons system in its suit, it doubted it would be useful then. The real question is, how did these two convicts get guns? And how is there nobody else running to help? Scoundrel put his weapon down.

"Chill, Scal. This one's a newbie."

"Oh," she said, dropping her weapon before following Scoundrel into a nearby convenience store. The newcomer trailed them. "Wait! What is this place? Where am I? Am I too late?" Stopping, Scoundrel faced their supposedly new friend with disbelief. "You asked three questions in the time it takes to answer the one we asked you," he replied. "Oh, I'm sorry!" The figure took the mask off and the face that was under it shocked both Scoundrel and Rapscallion together. They were met with the face of the female they've seen multiple times before on different occasions. The one that she had was the exact same as the one people like Jumpshot or Fate had when they met; light complexion, soft brown eyes, black hair tied in a ponytail, and light pink lips that looked soft to the touch. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Liv. Short for Oblivion. I'm here to-"

"Wait," Scal requested, holding a "time out" gesture, "You're another one of those robot people that have been showing up on this island recently?"

Liv gasped. "ROBOT PEOPLE? WHAT COLORS WERE THEIR SUITS? WAS ONE OF THEM LOOKING EXACTLY LIKE THIS?"

"Relax, Liv, and no. Just a blue one," Scoundrel assured her. Although he was curious as to why she sounded so worried when she asked. Liv exhaled relieved. "Thank goodness," she said. "But there was some kind of rocket that crashed into the sky...was that you?" Scal asked. At that, Liv turned pale.

"A...a...rocket that crashed into the sky?" she gulped. Both convicts looked at her like she was crazy.

"Yeah. It made that," Scoundrel replied, pointing to the massive rift in the sky. Liv put her mask back on her head. "That means he's already here. Do you know where I can find some weapons?"

"Wait, who's 'he'-"

"HELL YEAH, I KNOW WHERE YOU CAN FIND SOME WEAPONS! NOW YOU'RE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE!" Scal interrupted as she took Liv's hand and took her towards the tree in the middle of the town. Scoudrel shook his head and followed the two towards the center of town.

 **Pleasant Park 11 AM**

"Ugh...this is getting ridiculous," Teri groaned, "ALL OF THESE HOUSES AND NOT A SINGLE CLUE!" Landing on top of the roof of the final house she searched, she sat down with her head in her hands. Just then, a call from Bide came in.

"Hello?"

"Hey, you find anything? I'm almost finished over here."

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Hey, you tried, That's all you can do, and I'm proud of you for it."

At that, Teri smiled at her friend's comment.

"Thanks, Bide. I needed that."

Just then, she looked to her right and saw three armed people approaching the house she was on. She stood up quickly.

"Hey, Teri, I don't know if you're aware of this, but-"

"That's gonna have to wait, Bide. I may have company."

"But-"

"I'll call you back!"

Ending the call, Teri flew inside the house and stocked up the weapons the had. Even tough her suit provided her with weaponry, that kind was for killing while the weapons on the island were for heavy injuring. After drinking two shield potions that she found, she hid behind the stairwell, just as they entered the house. As they explored, she could hear them talking.

"Rex, what're you doing?"

"You didn't see that flying robot that was in the sky?"

"No! BB, what's he talking about?"

"While you went shopping for tea, he and I saw an orange and blue robot search every house in this area before landing here!"

"I'll check upstairs."

"Rex, are you okay? You sound more annoyed than-"

"I'm fine."

With that, Rex slowly walked up the stairs as Teri aimed where his head would be when he turned the corner. Each creak of the stairs got louder and louder as he got closer to her hiding spot. Rex made it to the top and...saw absolutely nothing. He did get a good view of the rest of the area though.

"Anything?"

"No, it's all clear up here."

Teri breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for the invisibility cloak in her suit; she remembered it at the last second. As Rex climbed down the stairs, however, she and the house suddenly heard a loud _CLAP!_ from outside of the house. Still invisible, she ran onto the balcony and looked at the sky. The rift was glowing twice as bright as it opened and saw some things drop from the other side. And where did they land? On the hilltop just across the house. Three lightning strikes from the rift landed around it, creating three mini rifts.

"Did you see that?" Rex asked Cera from below.

"Sure did! Let's go!"

The three started to run to the hill while Teri simply flew. What she found however, almost made her laugh out loud. On top of the hill was a Durr Burger with grafitti on its toungue. It was a figure of what looked like a pharoah with purple scars.

"What is this?" she asked as she dropped her invisibility cloak. She looked around the burger in awe at the mini rifts that had appeared; she was so distracted that she almost walked right into BB.

 **Snobby Shores: 11:30**

Bide sighed. He was just about to tell Teri arguably his most kept secret: his feelings about her. But alas, they had to wait. Being childhood friends was something special to him; they had watched each other grow, were both the best fighters in their class, and were assigned together to investigate the happenings on this island. The island was almost deserted, so they would almost always be alone. It had taken him months since they began their investigation to muster up the courage to say something, anything about his feelings. But again, work comes first. Walking out of the last house with a clearly disappointed look, he made his way to Pleasant Park to meet her as Omega silently watched on.

"Nuklear."

 _"Yes?"_

 _"_ Any information on the being on the other side of the island?"

 _"..."_

"Nuklear?"

 _"Would you believe me if I said that that being is the female version of you?"_

Omega's eyes widened. He had remembered seeing a female version of himself on his home planet; donning a similar suit to him, she was the leader of the resistance back when he ruled his planet. Masterful at weapon usage, skilled in innovation, as well as almost uncontested in hand-to-hand combat, he saw her as a threat. A minor threat, mind you, but a threat nonetheless.

"Keep an eye on her. I'll look for the power cores myself."

" _Understood."_

Hanging up, he looked at the rift he created in the sky. "I wonder what's behind that mask she wears..."

 **Pleasant Park**

"Okay...let's all take it easy..." Teri said as she was aimed at by Rex, who held an enraged look on his face. Cera slapped his gun away with a look of disbelief.

"REX! What's wrong with you?!"

"I'M FINE," he almost yelled. She was startled at how he delivered his response, but Teri spoke before she could answer him. "I'm Teri; have you guys seen some glowing stones around here?"

"No." Rex mumbled.

"No, sorry," Cera said.

Meanwhile, BB checked around the burger and found...absolutely nothing. The rifts were cool, but as she looked at the hillside opposite the mountain they were on, what grabbed her attention was the person who was sneaking around at its base. She'd never seen someone like him before.

"I'll be right back," she said to her group before sliding down the mountain.

The guest was slightly taller than her and muscular. His hair was spiked in the front and he wore a white sleveless t-shirt. His black and pink joggers matched his pink and white kicks. Taking out her shotgun, she trembled as she snuck behind him. Suddenly he stopped.

"I'm not here to cause any trouble," he said, turning around. In disbelief, she gritted her teeth and continued to aim at him. In her opinion, he was the cutest newcomer she'd ever seen. He had smooth light skin and blue eyes that shimmered. On top of that, he wore a mouth mask that added a sense of mystery to him.

"I don't know where I am...can you tell me what and where everything is?"

His hopeful eyes resulted in a blush from BB as she put her shotgun down and walked back to her friends with an unknown friend behind her.

 **Closer...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Snobby Shores** **12:00** **PM**

Bide trudged towards Pleasant Park with Omega still watching him from above. Slightly discouraged, he didn't feel like flying there despite it being faster. He used walking as an opportunity to think. Think about his future, his past, and how he'll deal with the problems of today. Sitting down at the edge of the hill on the path leading up to the neighborhood, he sighed and put his head back on its base. His mind began to drift to the past...when he first met Teri. Not many people who know Bide know that he was actually on that island before all of this happened. Before Tilted, before the meteor, before these power cores even existed. He lived in Salty Springs at the time and was still working at the RRDA, the Retail Row Detective Agency that doubled as a Police Department. Sure, on the outside, it just seemed like Sleuth and Gumshoe, the owners, were just solving cases with residents of the island, but on the inside, they were working with WWRL (Wailing Woods Research Lab) to create a suit that would open up the members of RRDA for retirement after working there for years and years on end. Plus, Tomotahead had originally gone there asking to purchase that spot to put an outlet restaurant in its place. Anyway, the WWRL was creating a suit that was designed for crime fighting; two suits for that matter. They both had the exact same features, the only difference was in color. The blue one, the one he wore now, was the one that was specifically created for males while the orange and blue one, what Teri wore, was for females.

The two met when the RRDA had presented him the suit, staying that he was the perfect candidate for the job; young, strong, energetic with a desire to see crime eradicated on the island. He had only seen things like that in movies, so he was eager to accept their offer. After explaining what the suit was capable of and how to use it, they introduced his partner. A fellow detective from the Tilted Towers Police Department, Teri was more or less the same as him, except she was more likely to act before making offers to criminals. In other words, she was the bad cop while he was the good one. However, they did hit it off quite nicely. They were both in love with the suits and very eager to start patrol. Of course, as time went on, the suits definitely served their usefulness in solving mysteries and fighting crime. Eventually, as their technology updated, the TTPD and RRDA both decided to discharge both Teri and Bide so that they can watch over the island as a full-time job. The WWRL incentivized this offer by saying that as long as they continued to use the suits, they would pay both of them throughout their careers, all the way through retirement as well. With the pay they received, they didn't say no. Ever since then, Teri and Bide have been the closest friends you could imagine. You rarely see one of them without the other close by. They knew each other's habits, interests, likes and dislikes like the back of their hands.

Carbide sighed. He knew deep down that he couldn't imagine his life without her and he couldn't deny. He just wished that she knew or indicated similar feelings. After getting up and stretching, he continued to walk to Pleasant Park. Little did he know that Omega was listening to his internal lament, and something in him couldn't help but relate in some form or fashion.

 **Pleasant Park**

Even with all of the strange happenings that have occurred that day, Rex had little to no interest in it. He was glad that Cera had an interest considering that scientific anomalies were a bit of a secret interest of hers. She didn't know he knew that. However, he just wished she could show the same fascination in him, considering what he's sacrificed for her. Sure, he gave up his golfing record, but this wasn't even half of what he exchanged to make her happy. As Teri flew around and examined the burger, Rex began to walk back to the golf cart.

"Rex, where are you going?" Cera called, "Don't you think this is cool?"

"Eh, doesn't really seem any different from any of the supernatural stuff that happens on the island any once in a while," Rex said, not turning back to look at her. Cera began to follow him.

"Yes...it is, actually! First a meteor, then a rocket, then the sky-"

"WHO CARES?" Rex shot back, with fury in his eyes. Once again startled, Cera glared at him. As she stared at him, Rex experienced a slight pain in his heart. Putting his hand at his heart, Cera frowned.

"Well fine," she said, "FINE. GO AHEAD. We don't need your negativity." she said before walking back to the hill where BB was coming back with someone else behind her. As he walked back to the cart, Rex stopped in his tracks.

 _"That's awfully unfortunate..."_

Frantically looking around, Rex looked for the voice's source, only to find no one around him. The others were still at the top of the hill, getting acquainted with BB's new friend. Getting to the cart, he sat at the front seat. He couldn't leave the others; they were going to need a ride back. However, once he checked his mirror, he actually saw someone in the back seat!

 _"Hiya!"_

Spinning back to look, he saw nothing. He rolled his eyes. "This isn't funny, BB," he said.

 _"What is there to laugh at?"_

Shuddering again at the voice, he started to drive the cart up to the base of the hill. The ironic thing about what he saw in the mirror was that it actually looked exactly like BB! Its eyes were purple and its skin was an eerie white. Instead of a unicorn, it had a demon on its shirt. The rest of its outfit was purple compared to BB's light blue outfit. He looked to his left and saw everyone still talking to the newcomer; they were slowly making their way to the cart. He looked to his right and was face to face with the figure in the mirror. Even though his mask was over his eyes (he could still see out of it though), she seemed to peer straight into his soul with a devious grin on her face. Even though one might look at her and consider her evil, Rex actually found her kind of attractive. His heart still wanted Cera, though, and she seemed to know it.

 _"You still want her...but be honest with yourself. Does SHE want you? Especially after what just happened?"_

"Are you...real?" Rex asked, avoiding the question. She giggled.

 _"Am I?"_

"Hey, Rex!" BB said, walking over. "This is Drift," she said, gesturing to the person she had her arm around. "He's from a place called 'California'. I've never heard of it, but maybe we'll-"

"Nice to meet you," Rex said before getting out of the cart and walking towards another nearby one. Teri and Cera began to talk to Drift after BB told him to wait before following a saddened Rex to the cart. "Did something happen between you and Cera? I know you're upset, but that's no reason to be rude..." Rex stayed silent as BB waited for an answer.

 _"Just go...we have some things to discuss."_

BB was shocked to see Rex ignore her completely and just drive towards Tilted. It wasn't like him to be so cold; he was usually the nicest, most caring person you could ever meet! He's been that way ever since she met him. What influenced this sudden change? Whatever it was, she didn't like it.

 **West of Lucky Landing**

"So, you're here to collect some glowing rocks before someone else does, and if he gets them before you, the entire island is gonna explode or something," Scal deduced as she walked with a now fully armed Liv. She nodded.

"Something like that. Hey, where's Scoundrel?"

The two turned around and saw Scoundrel trailing behind with a skeptical look on his face.

"HEY, CAN YOU PICK UP THE PACE?" Scal called, "WE'RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER!"

"I'll go look to see what's ahead," Liv said before flying to the valley in front of them. As she flew off, Scoundrel jogged to meet his partner. She chuckled. "Took you long enough-"

"Rap, I don't think we should get involved in this," he said. She looked at him confusedly. "What? Why not? Don't you think this is cool?"

"Sure, but think about it. Other planets? Power cores? Have you seen her fancy weaponry on that suit of hers?"

"I think it's real."

"I do too! I just don't want you to get hurt in something we have no stake in!"

"According to her, the island is at stake."

"Well, even so, what I said still stands. I don't want you to get hurt."

She snickered. "I appreciate your concern, but I think I can handle this."

"..."

"Why so serious, Scoundrel? Come on, lighten up a little! Have an adventure every once in a while."

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE ADVENTURE!"

"THEN WHAT'S IT ABOUT?"

"..."

"Well, when you find out, let me know. Otherwise, I'm gonna keep helping."

"GUYS!"

Liv flew back with a sense of urgency in her voice. "WE HAVE A PROBLEM."

She pointed at the hill where the Visitor stood.

 **There's a reason his heart hurts...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Outskirts of Pleasant Park**

Rex struggled to keep his eyes in front of him as he drove. He didn't really have a set destination in mind. He just kept driving. And driving. And driving. And driving some more. He tried not to look to his right, where his mysterious new friend sat. He didn't have to look at her to know that she had a knowing grin on her face. Her eyes were dark purple, along with the rest of her outfit. There were purple lines above and beneath her eyes. He wondered what would happen if he took a long look in her eyes. What would he see? That was a question that would have to wait. For now, he just drove aimlessly, hoping to get somewhere, anywhere.

"Okay, you can stop now. I think we're far enough," his passenger said. As they slowed to a stop, she jumped out and stretched. They appeared to be at one of the runes that had come from that cube that was on the island a few days ago. She sat down on one of the medium-sized rocks and patted the spot next to her, indicating that he should sit down. Her grin was still going strong. Taking off his dinosaur headpiece, Rex looked at her questioningly. "Come on," she replied to his stare, "Sit down! Let's talk."

"How is this far enough? We're just outside of Pleasant. What's keeping them from coming over and finding us here?"

DB giggled. "Nothing. They'd just think you're sitting here talking to yourself."

Rex's eyes widened. "Wait...you're not real?" He put his hand on his head. DB rolled her eyes. "I'm as real as you believe I am, just like I said. And since I'm still here, I'm pretty darn real." Rex sat down next to her but avoided her gaze. "How long have you been in my head?" She shrugged. "I dunno, as long as that seed of doubt was planted in your head." Rex's expression changed enough for her to realize that he didn't know what she meant. "In other words," she said, crossing her arms, "As long as you realized that you might have been wasting your time on Cera." The second she mentioned her name, Rex lurched forward, clutching his chest. His eye twitched and he was in a cold sweat. He was slightly dizzy, but DB helped him get back to his sitting position. "...and that's what we're here to talk about," she said, "The reason your chest hurts is because you're literally getting heartbroken." Rex scoffed while still trying to catch his breath.

"Hea...Heartbroken? That's ridi...ridicu...ridiculous," he mustered. DB chuckled.

"Clearly not, since it's happening to you. What'd you think it was, heartburn?"

Glancing at her, Rex delivered a scowl of skepticism. "Even if it was real...it's not happening to me." DB crossed her legs and raised her eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

"Positive," Rex insisted, now able to breathe normally, "She cares. I'm sure of it."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"Then why are you showing stage 1 of heartbreak?"

"I told you it wasn't happening to me."

"It literally just happened to you, what do you..."

Rex looked at her, evidently upset. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and another knowing grin. "By the way...have you looked in the mirror lately?" This got Rex's attention. He ran over to the car and looked in the mirror and went open-mouthed at what he saw. His eyes began to show a hint of purple. There were slight purple traces over his eyes. His skin was slightly lighter than before. "What's...what's happening...?"

"Still don't believe heartbreak exists? Those little lines above your eyes get brighter the more you continue to keep your anger inside of you."

Rex looked at DB inquisitively. "Is that how you became like that?"

DB's grin instantly faded into a deep frown. "You tell me..." she muttered softly, looking away from him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your friends are on their way. Look." She pointed in the direction of Pleasant Park, where Cera, BB, and Drift were heading toward him in a cart.

"But-" Rex said, turning to look at DB, but she was gone. Both her and her pickaxe.

 _Don't worry,_ she said, _I'll always be in here. I'll be watching what's going on, and you can talk to me whenever you want. Otherwise, I'll be silent._

A small pang of guilt hit Rex. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings, he just refused to believe it. Cera cared...right?

"Rex!" BB called, walking up to him, "Hey, we're going to-have your eyes always been like that?"

"Oh! Uh...umm...what are you talking about?"

"Your eyes," Drift said, "They're purple."

"No...well...it's allergy season, you know..."

"It's springtime; plus you were taking your medicine when you opened the door to leave this morning," Cera pointed out with her arms crossed. A glance at her made him realize she wasn't buying his story.

"Hey, where's your robot friend? The orange one?"

"Her name is Teri," BB corrected, "And she's waiting for her partner back in Pleasant. Anyway, I was going to say that I was going to take Drift for some pizza. You wanna come?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Oh. Well, I saw what happened with Cera before you left."

Both glanced at her, shocked. Rex's eyes pleaded with her not to do it. BB grinned. "I'll just leave you two to make up." Rex's hand instinctively went to his forehead as Drift and BB got into the golf cart and drove off. Although Rex stared at the ground, he could feel Cera's glare burning into his skull. He sighed.

"Come on. There's a cart in Tilted we can ride."

Without a word from Cera, they began the trek to the city.

 **Lucky Landing 1 PM**

Omega landed next to the Visitor with his arms crossed. They stood on the top of the hill overlooking the small town. Scoundrel, Rapscallion, and Liv stood at the base, staring at them with worry in their eyes.

"Hello, Nuklear."

"Greetings, my lord."

"I take it the one on the right was the 'shooting star'?"

"Correct. Apparently, her name is Oblivion, but those two convicts call her Liv."

Liv's mask was off, giving Omega a clear view of her face. Behind the mask, his eyes widened.

"My lord?"

"..."

"MY LORD!"

"Huh? Oh, yes, the power core, that's right!" Nuklear looked at him confusedly. "Actually, I was about to say that her demeanor reminds me of you in a sense. Smart and ready to fight at all times."

"Mhm."

"But perhaps that's not what you're thinking."

Although Visitor had a mask on, Omega knew that he had figured it out and was probably smiling. "Let's just get the core."

"As you wish."

Omega flew closer to them as Visitor slid down the hill and began to jog to them.

"Ummm...they're getting closer," Rap said, pulling out her shotgun before Scoundrel lowered it with his arm. "Hold on. Let's just see what he wants-"

"We're about to fight an alien and you just want to see what he wants?"

"Would you rather he use his alien technology to blast you?"

Rap opened her mouth to respond, but she realized he had a point and closed it. Liv, however, had put her mask on and glared at him. The two were now feet away from them.

"We will only ask this ONCE," Omega said, "Where's the power core?"

Liv scoffed. "Even if we knew, we wouldn't tell a monster like you."

Omega looked at Visitor. "What? I never said they told me where it was."

Omega groaned in disappointment. "Fine. We'll find it ourselves," he said before flying back to Snobby with Visitor in tow.

"See, isn't that better than almost getting your brains blasted out?"

"Shut up," Rap said, walking away.

"I need to follow him. If he finds it, this entire island will be enslaved to his will."

"We can help if you want," Rap offered, to which Scoundrel glanced at her disapprovingly. Liv chuckled. "Sure. Can you fly?"

"No, but we can drive."

"Cool. Meet me at the gigantic lake on the island."

"Gotcha," Rap said before Liv flew off. When she was out of earshot, Rap looked at Scoundrel. "You don't have to do this if you want."

"Rap, you're missing the point."

"Scoundrel, you're missing the fun. You don't wanna sit on the sidelines for this one, don't you?"

 _If it meant keeping you safe, then yes, yes I do._ he thought.

"No, I guess not," Scoundrel replied.

"Good! Then let's go! There's a cart in town," she said, before jogging to Lucky Landing once more.

 **Pleasant Park**

"Took you long enough," Teri said.

"Yeah, sorry. It's been a while since I had some time to think." Bide answered, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh? What were you thinking about? Did you come up with an idea of where the power core was?"

Bide's heart sank; of course, it was about work. What else would it be about? "No," Bide said with gritted teeth.

 _It was about you..._

"Oh. Well, while you were thinking about whatever, I think I have a hunch about where the last one is. We're going to Loot Lake. Maybe it's in that bouncy substance that covered the lake."

"Fine."

She glanced at him. "You good? We're almost done here."

He didn't respond and just flew off, leaving Teri confused.

 **Tomato Town**

"Wow...California sounds like a cool place..."

"Funny you say that since it's pretty hot there," Drift said, getting into the cart. They had both gotten a slice of pizza and soda to relax. Drift was telling BB about where he was from while BB told him about her friends and the island.

"So a rocket created that rift in the sky?"

"Yep! And you fell right through it, apparently."

"I see. So where to now?"

"Loot Lake. If you like bouncing, you'll have a lot of fun there."

Drift stared at her smile as they drove off towards the lake.

 **Tilted Towers**

"So...what's up with your eyes?" Cera asked, breaking the silence.

"I told Drift, it's allergy seas..."

"You're an awful liar, Rex."

 _Ohh...I like her already!_ DB giggled.

"Well, it's..."

"Not the truth," Cera finished, "What happened?"

"..."

Cera sighed. "And here I thought friends were supposed to be honest with each other..."

At the end of that sentence, Rex began to feel the heartbreak symptoms again. Cera didn't notice, but he blinked hard and his cold sweat returned. The pain in his chest was a bit more intense. The purple in his eyes and the cracks above his eyes got more visible.

 _Welcome to stage 2, Rex!_

 _"How long is this going to go on?"_

 _Until you either tell her, or you die._

 _"When do I die?"_

 _There are five stages. I wasn't expecting you to reach this stage so quickly..._

"UGH!" Rex groaned, getting Cera's attention.

"Rex? REX! Are you okay..."

"I'm fine. I gotta go..."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," Rex said weakly as he stumbled towards Loot Lake, leaving a confused Cera behind.

 **It is slowly coming together...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alone.**

Rex's vision was quickly transitioning between being blurry and being crystal clear. His hands were latched to his stomach and he could feel the sweat crawling down his face. He was starting to think that maybe DB was onto something when she said that heartbreak was both real and literal. It was almost as if his heart was literally being split in two. Stumbling up the stairs in the empty skyscraper in the center of Tilted, he yearned to be alone. He didn't want Cera to see him like this; he didn't want her to worry. If she didn't know, however, their friendship would be at stake. If she knew, there would still be a possibility that she didn't see him as any more than a close friend, thus keeping his life in danger. He finally reached the top floor of the building; it only took about thirty minutes. He would've been up there in a fifth of the time if this were a normal fight. Crawling past the pillars and sheets of wood, he stuck his head out the window.

"Ah...ahhhhh..." he sighed as the air filled his lungs. He could feel his sweat fading away; his heart rate was decreasing to normal. He got turned his head to see Cera driving the cart to Loot Lake. He sighed, knowing he would have to find another cart to catch up to her. But first, he had to get his strength back. A hand was laid on his back.

"Come on, Rexy," DB said, "Let's get back inside. The windows are all open up here."

Grabbing her hand, Rex was dragged to the space next to the stairs. There was an open window in the back of it; it looked large enough to be an office space. Rex was set against one side as DB sat against the other. DB smiled. "Feeling better?" He nodded. "A little," he muttered. DB closed her eyes and grinned. Rex looked up at her. "Hey, I'm sorry." DB's eyes snapped open. She chuckled. "For what? You didn't do anything."

Rex shook his head. "That's not what I saw before we came here. You don't like talking about where you come from, and me bringing it up hurt you." By now, DB's smile had completely disintegrated. She looked a bit hurt, yet she didn't respond. She simply stared at Rex. "You said the angrier I get, the more I become...like this," Rex said, gesturing to his face and skin. "Like you..." DB looked away. Tears had approached her eyes, but they weren't visible yet. Nothing escaped her mouth yet. "You know why I feel the way I do...but why are you angry, Dark Bomber?" Silence. "DB?"

She looked at him. Her usual expression was replaced by one of grief. "Let me ask you a question, Rex."

"Shoot."

"Do you believe I'm real?"

"Well...yeah, yeah I do," Rex answered. DB got up and positioned her face right in front of his. "Look me in the eyes and tell me the truth, Rex. You're an awful liar." Rex instantly became trapped in the abyss that was her eyes; although it was a sea of purple, he felt slight pain. It seemed as though it hurt more than any pain he'd ever experience. "Yes. You are real." DB sat next to him.

"What if I told you that I'm the same as you?"

Rex stayed silent as DB stared into her lap. "We're two sides of the same coin, Rex."

"You're interested in someone too?"

"No, it's not that," DB assured him, "It's just...I've never been able to feel...loved. I don't even know what love is." Now the light purple tears began to trickle down her face. "People are so obsessed with it, men and women alike. They find it and spend the rest of their lives with it. Men look for love only for women to reject it. Women look for love only for men to not want theirs. But for those that actually find love, they get together and stay together for the rest of their lives. It's so complex...or maybe I just don't know how it feels."

Rex wanted to embrace her. It was a legitimate trouble that ailed her. She was from his mind, she had been there for every attempt to get Cera's love, every subtle confession, and yet. She didn't know what love is. She never got that warm, fuzzy feeling he got when he knew someone cared for him or when someone was thinking about him. She never got that rush when he met someone that was genuinely happy to see him and he was happy to see them. Although Rex confessed that he thought she was real, for all he knew, she may not be but wasn't telling him. But her dismay was real. Rex now knew that when she explained what she meant, she was explaining how she was a mirror to him. Both had never truly felt love. They've felt friendship, but what Cera said previously was correct. They were indeed two sides of the same coin.

"What's love, Rex?"

He looked up at her and through the remnants of her tears, he could see a glimmer of hope that he knew the answer and could teach her how to feel it herself. But for now, he had to give her an honest answer.

"I don't know. I've never felt it. I'm sorry."

Her frown returned. "I see."

"Hey, we'll figure it out together. Even though this heartbreak exists, we can still see how to ail it. But for now, can you please stay out here? We can get some fish on the way to Loot Lake."

She smiled. "I think I'd like that...but we can't go there now. Something is about to happen over there." With that, she faded away.

 _Now, let's see if Cera loves you like you hope._

Rex sighed and headed down the stairs of the building.

 **Loot Lake**

"Hmmm...I think I found it," Bide muttered. He was on the side of the lake north of Lazy Links while Teri searched the opposite side. Digging his hand into the wet dirt, his hand reemerged, holding exactly what he was looking for. He grinned.

"Booyah," he whispered. He turned around. Sure enough, Teri was still flying around, scanning every centimeter of her portion of the lake. Looking at the core, he started to think. It was a simple cube; it had markings all over it, just like the giant one that melted in the lake, except for this one was light red. Every couple of seconds, the cube would cover itself with symbols before they disappeared again. According to RRPD, these structures have the ability to destroy the entire island, but they can also provide tremendous growth to the island's wildlife, too! However, what would be the impact of his friendship with Teri if he presented it to her? On one hand, she'd be overjoyed and be eager to do research on it to see what it does. On the other hand, she'd still be looking frantically for this little cube. Both effects were the same; he wouldn't be very far in the forefront of her mind. In fact, he'd likely be the last thing on her mind. He sighed, and was about to put the cube back before. He heard the sound of engines in the air. He looked up, and sure enough, there were three figures flying to the lake, and two people in a golf cart following them. He looked towards Teri and saw two golf carts, one with a dinosaur skin as the driver, and the other was with Brite Bomber at the drivers' seat and the mysterious visitor Teri told him about at Pleasant Park. Behind them, he saw someone limping slowly towards the lake.

Omega and the Visitor landed about ten feet away from Carbide; the core was still in his hands.

"My lord, they're behind us," Visitor whispered; Liv had landed about fifteen feet farther away, and Rapscallion and Scoundrel were catching up quickly.

"I see," Omega responded, "Let's find it quickly."

Flying over Carbide, they started searching the house in the center of the lake. Meanwhile, Liv had approached Bide. "Have you seen a little cube anywhere? It's red and has all of these symbols on it?" Bide was about to respond before Scoundrel interrupted. "I doubt a random stranger has a supernatural cube in his possession."

"I mean it's possible," Rap said, "This suit looks just like the one she has, except it's blue."

On the other side of the island, Cera had encountered Teri. "Still looking for that power core, huh?"

"Yes. It's gotta be around here somewhere, I'm sure of it!"

"Hey, Teri! Cera!" The two looked to their left and saw Drift and BB bouncing across the island. "Come on, join us! It's fun!"

"Not now, BB," Teri said, "When I'm done, I'd be glad to join the fun. Hey, who are those three?" Teri flew over to where Carbide was and BB and Drift followed suit. Cera rolled her eyes and got back into the cart. Rex however, was just leaving the city when he saw Cera.

"Hey, Cera!"

She saw him and stopped before shaking her head and following Teri. He went pale.

 _Stage 3, Rex. You need me to come out?_

"No..." Rex grunted, "I'm fine." His purple eyes were now visible to anyone who talked to him. The blue cracks underneath his skin reached his eyebrows. Rex fell to the ground and began to cough out blood.

 _REX! That's it, I'm coming out..._

"No," he insisted, slowly coming to his feet, "I got this."

 _Take a break first..._

He walked towards the hill and laid back on its slope before looking towards the sky, chest heaving. Everything was distorted, and it seemed Cera was getting farther and farther away. Meanwhile, everyone was on the opposite side of the lake except Omega and Visitor.

"Wait a minute...MY LORD!"

"Yes, Nuklear?"

"That blue one has it. It's in his suit right now."

"Oh?" Using his X-Ray vision feature, Omega zoomed in on Carbide, and, sure enough, the core was concealed in his suit. "Excellent work, Nuklear. However, I doubt we can approach without being noticed."

"Already on it."

Nuklear took out a heavy sniper rifle and aimed it at Bide's head. If Nuklear pulled the trigger, Bide would die on impact. "Excellent." Omega then flew over to the group.

"So you don't have the core?" Teri asked. All eyes were on him; he still didn't answer.

"He does," Omega said, walking up to him with his hand outstretched. Rap and Scoundrel aimed their weapons while Liv tried to deliver a roundhouse kick to his head, only for Omega to slap it away like it was a fly. "I've had enough of this goose chase," Omega growled, "Give me the power core. NOW."

"First of all, who are you?" Bide challenged, backing away.

"Your future master." Just then, Teri aimed a punch at his face, but Omega caught it. She tried to attack with her other hand, but Omega had telepathically rendered it useless. Omega grinned. "I have an idea..."

The jailbirds and Liv watched on to see what he would do. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER," Carbide yelled, lunging forward, only for his helmet to be brushed with a sniper bullet.

"That was a warning shot. Nuklear, aim the next one at this girl."

Liv and Rap gasped. Bide froze. Teri went pale. "No..." he muttered. He tried not to break down in front of him; then he'd truly be defeated. Omega still held Teri completely still; one sniper bullet would end her right then and there.

"I was there when you were in Snobby Shores..." Omega said.

Bide looked up at him. "This girl was on your mind the entire time," Omega replied matter-of-factly.

"What?" Teri said, before her head spun towards Bide, who tried to avoid her gaze.

"You love this girl, don't you?"

The second that he finished that question, the silence filled the air. Everyone waited for his response, until, finally, he spoke up.

" _With all my heart..."_ he said, loud enough for her to hear.

Behind the mask, Teri blushed; Bide continued. "I'd do anything to keep her safe...I'd..." He fell to his knees, unable to contain his emotions anymore. "I'd die to keep her safe...we've been partners for too long...I've been a bit of a jokester around her, but deep down...I wonder if it's too late to change...I wonder if it's too late for her to love me...no matter how much I love her" He unmasked himself so that Teri could see the true genuinity of his words. "If I gave her this power core...I doubt she'd be willing to see me for what I feel for her; she's interested in this kind of stuff...but if I didn't...she'd die for my foolishness. And I'd never get to see her smile one more time...or laugh one more time."

Silence filled the air. "Prove to her that you love her then...give me the core and she lives." Omega said coldly. Bide gritted his teeth...and he took out the power core before giving it to Omega. "Please forgive me, Criterion...I'm sorry." Once it was in Omega's hand, he held up his hand; Nuklear put down the sniper and flew to his commander and Teri fell to the ground.

"Thank you for your cooperation...but before I go..."

Everyone looked at Omega. "...I have an idea of how you feel...how you're wondering if you can still change for...love..."

The Visitor looked at him as he spoke. "...or if you're..." Omega looked at Liv. "...too much of a monster to feel anything..." With that, Omega flew away with Nuklear by his side. Scoundrel helped Bide up. Deep down, he knew that Bide had told the truth about what he felt because he felt the same about Rap. He just wish she saw it.

"He's right..."

"Who is?" Liv asked.

"This guy. I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Bide."

"Bide's right."

"How's he right? He was talking about her," Rap said, gesturing to Teri, who simply stared at Bide in a mixture of shock and bewilderment. Scoundrel faced her and faced his partner-in-crime. "I'll...explain later." Liv's eyes lit up; she understood what her friend was saying, but she was still confused about what Omega was saying.

"I'm going to get some food. If you guys wanna come, be my guest," Scoundrel said, getting in the cart, waiting for anyone else. Rap got in next to him while Liv flew to Tilted. Cera began driving back with a very bewildered Drift and BB. Bide and Teri were left alone.

"How long...?" Teri got out.

"...Forever, Criterion. Forever."

 **Tilted Towers**

With DB's help, Rex headed back to the skyscraper in the center of the city. However, he only had enough strength to make it to the ground floor. He collapsed, out of breath. His costume was nearly drenched. He could hear his heartbeat. The blue cracks had extended to his cheekbones and his eyes began to glow.

 _You need to tell her...it's now or never..._

"But...how...does she...not...know...?" Rex began to sob, not caring who heard him, "I...I gave up...everything...for her..." The tears seemed to fall down his face endlessly.

 _It's okay, Rex...I'm so sorry..._

Just then, a cart stopped in front of the building. "Man, I really hope this taco store can go a week without getting destroyed," Cera said, with Drift and BB behind her. "Yeah," BB said, "Hey, do you know where Rex is? Haven't seen him in a couple hours."

Cera frowned. "Nope." Rex tried to get to his feet. _"Cera..."_

 _This is Stage 4, Rex! Be careful!_

He felt like his heart was going to explode if he went a second longer without Cera knowing. It's been months...months that he's felt this way, and it was ignored every single time. _"Cera..."_

"Do you guys hear something?" Cera said, stopping in front of the building.

"Nope," BB said, walking past the building with Drift in tow.

"I think it came from in here..." Cera walked in. "We'll be in this taco store if you need us!" BB called before leaving. Rex's vision was getting darker; he felt like he was going to pass out any second. He could hear Cera's footsteps approaching. "Hello?" Cera called. _"Cera..."_ Now, Cera heard it more clearly. She turned the corner and...there was Rex, slumped against the wall. Cera gasped.

"REX! OH MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? ARE YOU OKAY?"

Cera immediately went to check his pulse, which was slowing down drastically. He couldn't stop crying; this was the one time he felt she actually cared for him. "I'm calling BB now, Rex; just hang tight!"

 _"Cera...why..."_

 _Rex...it's time for sleep to claim you..._

Cera stopped dialing BB's number and looked in Rex's purple eyes; they were quickly filling with black. "Rex...wh...why are you crying...why do you look like this...?"

 _Let the darkness overtake you..._

Rex slowly took Cera's headmask off and looked into her brown eyes.

 _And let your pain fade away..._ DB softly whispered in his mind. Everything went black for Rex, but he still asked his question.

 _"Why...don't you...love...me...?"_

 **Secrets revealed...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Omega's Lair**

Omega chuckled as he stood on his balcony overlooking Snobby Shores. It was his; the final power core was now his to command, to control. As he scanned it with his helmet, he grinned; the cube was still active. Now all he had to do was put it in his computer. Once placed, it would shine a beacon that would pierce through the sky and unleash hell upon the island, recreating it in his own personal likeness. He predicted that Liv would be the leader of the resulting resistance team. There usually would be one wherever he invaded. However, the downside to this was that he would never be able to travel the universe again. Whether he liked it or not, this was his final stop. Of course, he could make a portal to another world, but the core only had enough power to serve one purpose; after that, it would be rendered useless. He frowned.

 _One purpose...just one and that's it..._ he thought. Just then, Visitor entered the room. "Lord Omega, congratulations on your success," he said. "Thank you..." Omega said, deep in thought. Visitor approached him. "What's the matter, my lord? I'd expect you to be bouncing off the walls at this victory." His general turned to face him. "I am excited, but..."

Visitor smiled. "But what?"

"Why the smile, Visitor?"

"I believe you know why."

"No, I don't."

"You're having second thoughts about this entire operation, aren't you?" Visitor asked. Omega sighed. He was the top in his squadron for a reason. "That girl barely said a word to you, yet you're already considering throwing it all away. Why?" Crossing his arms, Omega went up the stairs to his computer, but did not turn it on. He stayed silent. "Am I...a monster...?" Visitor moved closer. "What was that, my lord?"

"Am I a monster?"

Visitor stayed silent. "Are you?"

Omega looked at him with no sign of jest. Visitor still had a straight face. "This is no laughing matter, Nuklear." Visitor put his hand in his pockets. "I'm not treating it as such. I'm trying to make a point, actually." Omega's look of seriousness was now replaced with one of curiosity. "What point is there to make?" Visitor sat down and crossed his legs. "After everything you've done...after all you've worked towards...do you yourself think you're a monster? Forget what the girl said to you. What do you think?"

"No."

"Then you're not. Simple as that. However...I don't think you're one hundred percent honest in your answer."

"Enough games, Visitor! What's the point?"

"The point is when you look at your past and see your accomplishments, will it be something someone else will look back and smile upon or shudder in fear or break down in tears over?"

Silence filled the room. This was a good question. He was the ruler of many planets. He'd enslaved all of them and was responsible for the massacre of many of their citizens. He truly thought he was making things better. Only to realize that, if he were the victim...he'd be traumatized. Although the island was small, it was large enough for him to rule. But is that what he really wanted? Visitor came over and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I think you get it, my lord...so I'll ask again...what do you think? Are you a monster?"

Omega looked at him before walking towards the balcony again. "I'm going out for a second."

"To find that girl?"

"...help yourself to anything in refrigerator, Visitor. You deserve a break." Visitor smiled. "Thanks, my..."

"Call me Omega, please," he said before flying in search of Liv.

 **Lazy Links**

"I can't _BELIEVE_ this!" Rap said, kicking up some grass. Scoundrel sat in the nearby golf cart, watching her vent out her frustration. Liv floated down in front of the cart. "We wasted all of that time...for a CUBE?" Scoundrel chuckled. "Come on now. You were right about one thing; it was kinda cool." Liv chuckled as Rap spun around in disbelief. "But we could've spent so much more time elsewhere! What are you-"

"Rap..." Liv flew over and put her hands on her shoulders. "Relax. It's fine. Go put your feet in the pool. I bet the water's fine." Liv pointed to the large pool in front of the clubhouse. "We'll meet you over there. 'Kay?" Rap rolled her eyes and began walking. Scoundrel sat, playing with the fuzzy dice sitting under the cart's mirror. Liv sat next to him. "So..."

"So...what?"

"When are you gonna tell her?"

That got Scoudrel's attention. He looked at her as she smirked at him. "T...tell her what?" He asked, eyes darting from left to right. "You know what, Scoundrel," she said, laughing, "What Bide said about...what's her name...Teri! What he said about her at Loot Lake...it applies to you and Rap, doesn't it?" Scoundrel looked in the distance and saw Rap dip her feet in the water, followed by a sigh of relief. "I don't get it..."

"You don't get what?"

"How doesn't she realize it yet?"

Liv stayed silent and looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "When we first became inmates, I was the first person she met. Rest assured, whenever there was a prisoner fight, I didn't let a single scratch get on her. Sure, she can fight, but still. I remember giving up my portion of food for her whenever she was still feeling a bit hungry. There were entire weeks where I ate very little. After this island turned to crap, we were the only two alive, so all we had was each other. Since there are a hundred of us left on this island, we called Lucky Landing our home, hoping our luck would change for the better. While she slept, I took food from nearby stores. I woke up early to make her breakfast so she can forget about this...this...unfortunate turn of events..." By now, Scoundrel's eyes were glassy and his frustration was evident. "I'm actually preparing a Christmas gift for her she'll never expect...a custom-painted pump shotgun..."

Liv gasped. "Are you painting it by hand?" Scoundrel nodded. "I'm also modifying it to give it a little extra oomph with each shot. You learn a thing or two about weapons the longer you're in prison." Rap was looking at the stars. Scoundrel chuckled at her. "What's it gonna take for her to realize that I love her?"

Liv followed his gaze. "I see..."

"It took about two years for me to admit it to myself...but when I did, I realized that was only half the journey. However, she knows me as this rough, hardcore ex-convict. I doubt she'll take me seriously if I told her."

"I doubt it," Liv replied. Her friend looked at her, confused. "Bide said he was a jokester for a majority of his and Teri's partnership. He was so genuine in his confession that she knew that he was genuine."

"I suppose. I wonder how they're doing, anyway...but in terms of when I tell her...I don't know."

"That makes sense. It takes some courage to admit to someone you love them," Liv said with a smile. Scoundrel then faced her. "So, what do you think that guy meant when he said that he knew how Bide felt?" Liv's smile fell. "I dunno. I don't really care much about him."

"I think he cares about you, though," Scoundrel said, to which Liv burst out into laughter. "You're...you're not serious, right?" Scoundel stared at her, stopping her laughter. "Oh. You're serious. He enslaves people for fun, Scoundrel!"

"He was looking right at you when he said it," Scoundrel countered.

"That doesn't mean anything. He was just reminding me of something I told him earlier."

"You called him a monster?"

"He is!"

"I'll take that as a yes. Maybe he just doesn't know the benefits of this world just yet. He probably hasn't seen anything that would make him want to spare...wait a minute."

"What?"

Scoundrel smirked. "I think you're the reason he hasn't blown up this island yet." Liv was floored. "That's ridiculous."

"Not really; it's kinda how guys work. They'd likely stop their recklessness if winning a girl's heart were at stake." Liv went silent. That was true; however, she smiled at him.

"Tell you what," she challenged, "Tell Rap how you feel and I'll personally find him and talk to him about it." She was pretty confident in herself; he himself said that he didn't know when he'd tell her. However, she went open-mouthed when he got out of the cart and began walking to Rap.

"Wait, wait! If you're doing this, then I'll do my part first. Maybe I can get the core from him. You'll need time to prepare." Scoundrel raised an eyebrow. "Hey, it's a confession to a girl you like. You'll need practice." Liv then got out of the cart and flew off. Scoundrel got back in the cart and went over ways to get the point across.

 **Tilted Towers**

"So, let me get this straight: you just FOUND him here? I've never seen him look this bad!" BB said. Cera was pacing the room, trying to figure out how to save her friend. He wasn't dead; they found a pulse when they checked his heart rate. It was slow, but at least he was alive. Drift simply looked at Rex. He'd seen this before, he just didn't know where. "I DON'T KNOW!" Tears were still streaming down her face. "I should've done something when he originally looked bad. I could've saved him! I...I..." Cera fell to the floor and simply started to wail in agony. She considered herself a hardcore person, but her hard shell was nothing for something of this caliber. BB surrounded her friend with a hug as Drift looked closer into Rex's eyes. He felt a slight bit of pain, similar to how Rex felt when he looked into DB's eyes.

 **Inside Rex's Mind**

"Rex..."

His eyes snapped open. He quickly shot upright but he was surrounded by pitch black. All he could see were the glowing eyes of DB. "Hey. You okay?" He nodded; he had a slight headache, but other than that, he felt just fine. He felt DB's arms surround him. "I'm sorry she didn't understand..."

"I think she did...just too late."

DB chuckled. "Not exactly. The heartbreak is still here. But you can wake up at any time and explain what happened. But you don't have much time before you pass out again, for good this time."

Rex paled. Then he smiled. "Hey, DB."

"Hm?" There was worry in her eyes. Rex smiled. "At the end of all this, I'm going to introduce you to everyone..." Her eyes widened. "What?! Oh, nonononono...I'm sure that they wouldn't exactly want an evil version of BB out in the world..."

"You're not evil..." his hands brushed her cheek. "If you were, I'd be dead by now."

A smile grew and a tear traveled down DB's face. Another friend...maybe they'll be able to teach her what love is.

 **Tilted Towers**

"Ughhhh..." Rex moaned. Everything was blurry, but he could still see everyone. He felt Cera hug him tightly, sobbing as she did so. Drift was smiling and BB had an even wider one.

 _It's now or never, Rex..._ DB said. He sighed. "Can...can I have some time alone with Cera?" he requested. She didn't let go, but as Drift and BB headed towards the door, BB mouthed 'Go get 'er Rex!' to him. As the two left the building, the silence was deafening. Sniffling and loosening her grip, Cera faced Rex. "What...how...when..."

"Because...I've spent months bottling this up...months trying to tell you...months trying to get you to see..."

 _Say the words, Rex. Let her know._ DB was smiling inside his mind, knowing this was it.

"See what?" Cera knew what was coming, but she wanted to hear it herself.

"To see that I love you, Tricera Ops."

Cera's eyes widened and Rex smiled. She got it now. Flashbacks of all of Rex's nervousness around her, his unusual kindness towards her, his unusually generous deeds. They were all for her. And she never understood it until now. "I...I..." Rex silenced her by planting a soft kiss on her lips. He was too proud of himself for him to worry about what she'll say. That one kiss triggered an explosion of emotion from both her and Rex. A torrent of tears were released from both of them. Cera knew that Rex was crying because he felt ignored. All of the emotions he had to bottle up just to impress her. All of the time he spent with her rather than taking care of himself. They were all fairly obvious signs. For Cera, she was crying because of how she treated him. She was upset because she didn't notice the signs. And he almost died because of her ignorance. Putting her arms around his neck, she parted from the kiss and laid her head on his chest, silently crying and moaning "I'm sorry" over and over again. What made Rex finally close his eyes in happiness was when, in the mixture of apologies, she said "I love you, too".

 _Good going, Rex. Good going._ DB complimented.

 **Confessions known...**


	8. Chapter 8

Liv flew above the island, searching for any clue of where Omega might be. As the chilly breeze of the night met her face, she grumbled to herself frustratedly. Clearly having regretted making the deal, she realized her mistake just as the words left her lips. At least Scoundrel was going to face his fear, so that was an advantage. She sighed, thinking about what he said at Lazy Links; the island truly was beautiful, especially at night. Why would he be so eager to destroy the island, killing many of its inhabitants along with it? It makes no sense! _Unless..._ Liv thought, _Scoundrel was right..._ She paused in midair and chuckled to herself. _That's ridiculous. We hate each other. We've been playing this game of cat and mouse for way too long, and he's won every time...This is my last chance to get rid of him...my last chance to be the hero._ She sighed and put her helmet down, and looked at the night sky before smiling. Each star seemed to twinkle brightly against the dark blue backdrop. As a couple of comets dashed across the night sky, her grin only widened. "Why would he want to get rid of such a magnificent world?" she muttered, "It's too beautiful to destroy."

She continued to fly over the island. There was no sign of him in Risky Reels or Wailing Woods. Then again, he wouldn't be able to be seen in the latter area, as there were too many trees to see anything from above. All you could see were the two cabins, the mysterious base that appeared after the Loot Lake house started to float, and that bunker that no one knew what was inside. Rolling her eyes, she flew over Lonely Lodge, still not seeing him, despite there being fewer trees. She saw Teri and Bide sitting on the roof of the main cabin, appearing to be talking. She smiled before continuing her search. Rotating to the racetrack to the east of the Paradise Palms resort, she thought she saw something on the spectators building. It was a black figure, and her heart jumped to her throat. She secretly hoped it wasn't him because she was enjoying being alone; she rarely had time to think especially with what's been going on over the last couple of days. In her case, years of chasing after Omega. However, after zooming in on the building, she was a bit disappointed to see that it was indeed him. He was simply standing on the roof, overlooking the race track, staring right at her. To her surprise, he wasn't aiming a weapon or something at her like he always was. With Omega's weaponry, he could easily overpower her if he tried. _I can't take any chances. He doesn't know why I'm here._ she thought. She flew down to the roof at top speed, making it look like she was about to attack. Omega still stood as still as a rock and simply observed. Making a fist, she charged towards him ready to deliver a punch only for her foe to dodge it at the last second. His sudden movement made her lose her balance and fall onto the roof. Her momentum caused her to bounce on the roof and almost fall off of it.

"CRAPCRAPCRAPCRAPCRAPCRAAAA-" she yelled as she quickly approached the edge. Just before she went over it, Omega blocked her path, catching her. He was a bit startled; her armory on top of her weight without it on made her pretty heavy. He was strong enough to counter the force with his though.

"Careful."

Liv quickly got out of his arms and spun around, aiming one of her in-suit weapons at him. Omega didn't flinch.

"Give. Me. The. Po-"

"I'm not here to fight and neither are you," Omega said nonchalantly. Liv's teeth clenched.

"You don't know that! I'm on a mission to take this power core from you, and I'm not afraid to kill you for it. So give it to me. I know you still have it."

Omega chuckled. "You're right, I do have it. I have plans with it."

Liv stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"However...I seek the answer to the question that you asked yourself."

"And what question is that?"

"Why DO I want to get rid of such a beautiful island such as this?"

Liv rolled her eyes without retracting her ray.

"Oh, please. You've had a lot of time to answer that question! Stop stalling and give me the power core!"

"I'm not stalling. I'm actually very serious," Omega responded, "I have a plan to destroy a world and I don't even know why I destroy it."

Liv was nervous. He could easily overpower her if he wanted to, yet he wasn't. Why?

"I'm going to find out. And you will help me."

Liv almost fell over with laughter.

"I'm going to help YOU?!" she laughed before she almost began to cry.

"Why would I help you?! WHY WOULD I HELP THE DESTROYER OF MY PLANET FIND A REASON TO SPARE INNOCENT LIVES?" she screamed, not caring who heard her. Omega was silent.

"I may have a reason to spare it," he calmly stated, "But I'm still working on it."

"Oh? And what might that be," Liv snarled full of newfound anger.

"You'll see. But for now, I propose this. Show me what exactly is so good about this island. What does this island have to offer? Succeed and I'll personally hand over the power core."

"That doesn't sound difficult; you might as well give me the core right now!" Liv said in a quivering voice.

"Is it?" Omega challenged, "Remember that you don't know much about this island either..."

Liv froze. He was right; she landed on this island two days ago. Other than Lucky Landing and Loot Lake, she had no idea where everything was.

"Shall we start at the city in the center of the island?"

Rolling her eyes, she took flight towards Tilted Towers as she began both Omega's and her own personal tour of the island.

 **Lazy Links**

Rap still seemed to be looking at the stars with a smile on her face as her legs stayed in the pool. Despite Scoundrel slowly approaching her, she seemed to be at peace.

"Have you calmed down?"

She spun around at Scoundrel who took his shoes off and sat down next to her.

"Mhm," she replied, "I haven't felt this calm in years."

Scoundrel couldn't say the same; his heart was beating like a drum.

"Look, it may have been a waste of time," he began, "But I'm truly glad that you're safe."

"There you go again with me being safe," chuckled Rap, nudging him playfully, "I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself."

"I know, but still..."

"Still what?"

Scoundrel took a deep breath before he spoke again. This was it. It was now or never. Rap was staring at him, waiting for his explanation.

"You okay? You look terrified."

"Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to you!" he said. Rap's eyes widened.

"Wh...what are you talking about?"

"It was never about this adventure, Rap. I know that you can defend yourself when the time requires it, but if there's something I can do to keep you from getting hurt, I'd take that opportunity every single day!"

She was silent.

"You don't know how much I care about you..."

Tears came to her eyes.

"You don't know how much I love you, Rapscallion. With all my heart..." he finished.

He turned away from her; her silence made him imagine the biggest smirk that she could possibly muster on her face. Here he is, a hardened criminal that showed how sensitive he really was to the one person he ever cared about. He got up.

"I'm...*ahem*...sorry if you don't really care," he apologized, "I just had to get that out there."

"I know..."

He turned to look at her and was shocked to see tears flowing down her face. "I know you've felt this way for a long time..."

"You did?"

She nodded. "You're not that difficult to read, Scoundrel."

"Oh."

"But still..."

She got up and placed her arms around his neck with a smile.

"I'm glad we share the same feelings."

They didn't hesitate to engage in a passionate kiss that they would both remembe for the rest of their lives. For both of them, Scoundrel's confession opened up a brand new relationship in their lives. Not just one of friendship, but one of love.

 **Almost...**

* * *

 **I don't know when the next chapter will be. Probably in 2019 at this rate. Sorry for the hiatus.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Liv's character model is Headhunter. Cera, BB, and DB are obviously Ramirez. Rex are Jonesy. Teri's is Rio and Bide's is Spitfire. Omega, Drift, and Visitor are unknown.**

Carbide and Teri flew towards Lonely Lodge in silence. Both were completely rendered silent after the events that had recently occurred at Loot Lake. Of course, there was that mysterious being in that black suit along with what seemed to be his second-in-command who knew how to handle a sniper. But what had truly shocked them was the Bide's confession. Not only were its timing and circumstances of its reveal completely extraordinary, but the passion and desperation that laced Bide's words was something that Teri could never even begin to imagine.

As they approached the main cabin of the campsite, Teri stole a glance at her partner. He didn't need to have his mask off for her to know that he was trying his best not to look at her. Little did he know that behind the multicolored mask that topped her suit, she couldn't stop the water from flowing down her face, no matter how hard she tried. As a result, she was having trouble keeping up with Carbide, who seemed to be flying faster than usual. Either way, she was very much touched by his words. It was a side of her usually goofy companion that she had never seen before. Frowning, she continued to confront the inner turmoil that had been boiling in her head ever since the conclusion of the confrontation.

 _How did I not notice?_ she thought, pinching her eyes shut as more tears seeped through, _It should've been super obvious that he cared...it shouldn't have gone that far..._

Opening her eyes, she noticed that Bide wasn't at her side anymore before noticing that he was slowly descending to the top of the cabin. As a very popular landing spot for nature-loving shooters (especially Sash Sergeant) and the official location of the Vindertech Llama Scouts, she was glad that it was deserted. Regaining her position at his side, she levitated in the air as he sat down before taking his metallic facemask off. Her tears choked her when she saw his face. Glistening with a mixture of sweat and tears, one look at him told her that he wasn't in the mood for fun and games. In fact, it was the opposite; he looked emotionally broken and mentally exhausted.

"I'm sorry," she breathlessly said as she sat down on the cabin's roof, "I never-"

"You shouldn't be apologizing," Bide interrupted with a shaky voice, "It's one hundred percent my fault."

"What?" Teri almost shouted, "How? I'm the one who wasn't paying attention!"

"Yeah, well," Bide said, looking at her with a sad smile, "It's not your job to pay attention to my feelings. It's not my job to be chasing you around, completely lovesick."

Her heart broke as she heard him finish that sentence. In essence, what he was saying was that she didn't have to care and that she had a right to ignore his feelings. He was also saying that he should have been focused on the entire point of the mission they were on, hence it was his fault that he got so sidetracked so easily. Placing his face in his hands, she heard the silent sobs of anguish escape his lips. It was at this point that she realized that there was nothing that she learned in her detective career that could help her in this situation. For once, there was no mystery to solve, no phenomenon to investigate, just the release of pent-up emotions, the acknowledgment of fears, and plain confusion. She took her mask off.

"You wanna know something?" she asked with a small smile. Bide looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "I may or may not have been following you when you got to Snobby."

Bide chuckled, which made Teri smile wider at the thought of raising his spirits. "Yeah, I don't blame ya. Gotta make sure I don't waste time eatin' Durr Breakfast Burgers, right?"

"Actually, quite the opposite," she answered, "Maybe I was just wondering what you would do without me..."

"Well, I don't do much without you, Teri," he casually responded.

"But you still do other things?"

"Yeah."

"And that's the point I'm trying to make. Obviously, your job isn't to have feelings for me. But that doesn't mean you're not allowed to. It also means that while I may have a right to ignore said feelings, I also have a right to acknowledge them. You do your job really well, Bide! You find a way to focus on the point of the mission while cracking a couple jokes here and there to lighten the mood. And that's something that I can't thank you enough for."

Bide's smile widened into the silly grin that she'd grown to love over the years which was reflected by hers.

"Well, I definitely got a kick out of you being chased by people in Halloween and Easter costumes," she answered with a blush appearing on her face, "It was kinda cute."

Bide's hand went behind his neck as he flashed a cheeky grin. "Yeah, well. You gotta do what ya gotta do to survive, right?"

"I guess," she answered, crossing her legs and placing her hand under her chin. "But now that that's outta the way, I guess you're wondering if I'm returning your feelings, right?"

His grin vanished as she sported a knowing grin. She knew that she shouldn't be playing with her food, but she liked having a little bit of fun with him. After all, didn't he turn serious moments into funny ones when they're on the clock? Grabbing the back of his neck and sliding closer to him, she donned a seductive grin and brought her lips to his ear.

"How about we discuss it tomorrow over a Durr Breakfast Burger?" she whispered, causing the hairs on his neck to stand up straight.

"Li...like a date-" he asked before being interrupted with a kiss from his partner. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she felt another fresh set of tears stream down her face. Both of their lips morphed into a smile following its conclusion as they looked into each other's eyes lovingly.

"Yes, Bide, like a date," she answered before wrapping him in a warm embrace.

As he returned the hug, Oblivion flew above the cabin towards the racetrack on the outskirts of Paradise Palms.

* * *

 **Sorry for this being a short chapter, especially after the long hiatus. I'm actually about to begin a different Fortnite story. Well, more like different Fortnite stories.**


	10. Chapter 10

Dark Bomber overlooked Tilted Towers from the hillside to the west of the city. It was deserted as usual; the apartment complexes were for the most part empty (which is partially why BB chose to live there), the clock tower was stuck on the wrong time at all hours of the day, and the destroyed middle building was...destroyed. Again. No one knew why, but when it was close to being rebuilt, some natural disaster always erased the progress of the construction workers in a matter of seconds. Anyway, Dark Bomber was simply staring at the building that held Cera and Rex. She was happy for him, she really was. Although she didn't know what love was, she was glad that Rex had finally achieved it. When she left in subtlety, the two of them were simply holding each other in their arms with grins on their face. Rex had finally gotten past that outer shell that Cera had on at all times, and they enjoyed every minute of it.

Sitting on the outskirts of the city, she sighed and laid back on the hilltop she was on. As she mindlessly drifted off, she began to think about the people that she had encountered, whether directly or indirectly. At the present, Rex was the only person that knew she existed. Cera, nor BB, or Drift knew that she was a being. At that thought, her eyes widened.

"Brite Bomber..." she muttered, putting a chin to her face. Love and affection sounded like it would be her thing since, at face value, it seemed that she had a positive outlook on everything. Maybe she could teach her a thing or two? Dark Bomber frowned. While she had no issue with positivity, she did have an issue when positivity was the only thing one person sees. Additionally, who knows how she'd react if she knew there was an "evil" version of herself? She'd undoubtedly feel both scared and frightened. As hopelessness loomed over her, she placed her hands on her forehead in frustration.

"Who knew it would be so hard to feel loved? Or anything in that matter?" she asked, "I wasn't expecting it to be this complicated..."

As she lamented over this dilemma, she heard a little chime that was accompanied with the opening of a glider in the distance. She turned around and saw that Brite Bomber was gliding toward the city (and more specifically, the hilltop she was on) with Drift following her on a driftboard. DB almost forgot that that was Drift since he was wearing an Anubis-like mask on his face. She had to admit that it complimented his look really well and really gave off that mysterious vibe. As BB landed at the base of the mountain, Drift dismounted his mode of transportation. As expected, the former was wearing all smiles. Drift's current expression was unknown; his mask hid a lot. Quickly hiding behind a nearby tree, she tried not to attract attention to herself. All she knew from what she saw was that BB was talking to Drift and Drift was talking to BB. The gestures he made as he spoke, combined with the clear excitement of BB showed that his words seemed to be rather fascinating to her. DB chuckled at her counterpart's childlike demeanor before her heart sinking when she saw Drift place down a jump pad and BB rift away after she hugged him.

"Why couldn't he just walk up to the city? Or build up? Or anything?" she whispered. Her levels of shock skyrocketed more as she witnessed Drift take the jump pad and land right on the hilltop she was on. He was now mere feet away from her hiding spot. What shocked her more was that, instead of sliding down into the city, he simply sat down.

 _Go away...go away...please..._ she thought.

"You can come out now. I won't hurt you," Drift replied before looking right at her hiding spot. Trying her best not to gasp in utter bewilderment, she didn't move a muscle. Neither did Drift.

 _Maybe someone else is hiding here?_

"You and I are literally the only ones on this hilltop. You might as well show yourself."

Once again, DB remained hidden. She didn't know what he would do or what he would say. In fact, this is what she was worried about mere minutes ago. With Brite Bomber's reputation of positivity, who would think that there would be a dark version of her on this island? There's no telling what he'd do or who he'd tell.

"Fine, stay hidden if you'd like. It's okay to be scared. I just came up here to talk."

"Why?" DB responded impulsively and without thinking; her cover was blown. Surprisingly, he didn't flinch.

"Well, I knew that something was off about Rex. When he was talking to that Triceratops girl over at the park, I thought I saw him talking to himself as he drove off. There was someone near him that only he could see because you were in his head. However, he saw you next to him. I put my mask on and was fascinated to see a double of Brite Bomber with him. The darker colors made me assume that you were evil."

Drift paused, causing DB to frown even deeper. He had never even met her personally and already thought that she was the villain of the story.

"However," he continued, "I realized that assumption was incorrect. As I approached the bottom of this mountain, I heard you speak. And I understand your concern."

"Speak about what?" she asked meekly.

"Not being able to feel or show any affection. Or not knowing what love feels like. If not both, of course."

Peeking from the tree she hid behind, she noticed that his gaze had gone from looking towards her to looking at Brite Bomber sitting on the ceiling of her apartment, seeming to be painting something. He chuckled.

"And I can say that I'm curious as well."

As he finished that sentence, he took off his mask, which revealed that he was not only smiling but blushing madly. BB had already moved from the ceiling to going inside the nearby convenience store.

"Where I'm from, I never really felt...cared for," he continued, "Not many friends, family forgot I existed...it was easy to overlook me despite the powers I have."

"Why wouldn't anyone be interested in you with these powers you're talking about?"

"Simply uninterested. Plus, superpowers don't exist in that world, so people would've been skeptical. However, this island is the only place I've seen where you can be a ninja, a disco guru, an Easter Bunny, a robot, and a literal ghost pumpkin. But that's besides the point."

At this point, DB was now leaning on the tree in plain view of Drift. BB was walking out of the NOMS store with a bag in each hand and back towards her apartment. Drift sighed.

"This is the most loved I've felt in a while. And I'm grateful for it. On top of that, I also want to reciprocate that love."

"But what does that have to do with me?"

"You have to be courageous enough to approach BB. Because believe it or not, she's human too."

"I'm not scared to, though."

"Really? If that's the case, I'll call her up here and you can say hello."

At this point, Drift's smile disappeared and was replaced with an immensely serious glare with pitch black eyes. Even though DB looked like the bad one, she felt nervous looking at him at that instant.

"I thought so," he said, "And like I said before, it's okay to be scared. Take your time."

She was extremely impressed with his warmth and apparent delight in talking to her despite him not knowing who she was. "I have a challenge for myself," Drift continued, "I want to ask her out on a date tomorrow. She's the type of person that I'd be happy to learn more about. But..."

"But what?" DB asked with the curiosity getting the best of her.

"But I don't know if she even sees me like that. She's friends with everyone on the island, whether male, female, robot, pumpkin, alien, cactus, you name it. Who's to say that one of them isn't her boyfriend?"

"Oh..."

"However, she hasn't said anything about having a boyfriend. And that's the hope that I'm riding on."

"..."

"Also...you're not the only one who feels nervous about this. You remind me of my counterpart..."

"You have a counterpart?!"

"Mhm."

"A _DARK_ counterpart?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed.

"Yep. I think you two would get along."

"What's he like?"

"I dunno. He flew off as I landed with the burger on that hill. With light, there's always some dark."

"Where can I find him?"

Drift pointed towards Pleasant Park. "On the outskirts of Pleasant Park, there's a huge hill that has a broken down castle on it. Check there since mystery is a thing he enjoys. I personally don't know if he's hostile or docile."

DB was ecstatic; there was a chance that there was someone out there who could serve as her first friend!

"I can tell you're excited. And I'm happy for you."

"Thank you...thanks so much for your help!"

At that point, BB had caught sight of Drift and was now waving at him, grinning at him from ear to ear while he returned the gesture. "No problem...if you want a bit of happiness in your day, just look for the Rainbow Smash." With that, Drift rifted away.

Dark Bomber had a shimmer of hope in her spirit and she hoped it would never die out.


End file.
